Her parents encouraged all their children to perform at community concerts and that is where Rankin began singing and step dancing at the age of five years.

[7] In the 1970s Rankin's older siblings, Genevieve, Geraldine, David, John Morris and Raylene began singing together at community events in Mabou, licensed dances called Pig and Whistles, and at wedding receptions and concerts.

While in University, Rankin performed as a singer and an actor in The Cape Breton Summertime Revue, which toured to Halifax, Pictou and Sydney.

[9] In 1989 Rankin and four of her siblings, John Morris, Raylene, Jimmy and Cookie, had their music featured in a show called The Mabou Jig.

The title song, "Fare Thee Well Love," along with "Orangedale Whistle" and Gillis Mountain peaked in the top ten on the RPM Country and Adult Contemporary Tracks in 1992.

[13] In 1990 the CBC produced a documentary television special called Here Come The Rankins!, which followed the band to the Winnipeg Folk Festival and then back home to Cape Breton.

In 1992, The Rankin Family signed with EMI Canada, were nominated for three Juno Awards, and on July 1 performed on Parliament Hill for Queen Elizabeth II as part of the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation.

[15] Between 1989 and 1998, The Rankin Family toured extensively in Canada, playing such houses as The Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton and Calgary, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Massey Hall in Toronto, and The Orpheum in Vancouver.

They were featured on Garrison Keillor's radio program Prairie Home Companion,[17] performed at the Bluebird Cafe and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and shared the bill with Alison Krauss for some American dates.

Rankin and her siblings are also featured on The Chieftains’ 1998 record Fire in the Kitchen, singing "An Innis Aigh" (The Happy Isle) and their rendition of "Jimmy Mó Mhíle Stór" appears on The Chieftains’ 1999 record Tears of Stone, which also features performances by Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt and Diana Krall In September 1999, The Rankin Family announced that they were disbanding to pursue individual creative interests.

[21] She was nominated for a Robert Merritt Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2012 for her portrayal of Bitsy in Bingo,[22] a Neptune Theatre and Mulgrave Road production, written by Daniel MacIvor.

[26] Her film work includes appearances in The Hanging Garden, Wild Dogs, Marion Bridge, Still Standing, Mr. D, Scotland, PA., Nonsense Revolution and Faith, Fraud & Minimum Wage.

[27] In 1999, Heather, Cookie and Raylene hosted the documentary Celtic Tides, which featured performances and interviews by Mary Black, John Allan Cameron, Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster and Loreena McKennitt, among others.

[28] In 2000, Carly Simon asked Heather, Raylene and Cookie to record background vocals for her album The Bedroom Tapes at her Martha's Vineyard Studio Space.

[29] Heather sang with Simon on The View, Good Morning, America and The Rosie O'Donnell Show,[30] and in a free concert in Bryant Park.

The pub was originally a century-old general store and a place where the Rankins’ great-grandmother, Sadie Wright, and her daughter, Margaret, once sold butter, eggs and vegetables from their farm in Mull River.

The pub is now seasonally operated, offers a full menu, and live, local music daily from June 1 to mid October each year.

Heather's brother, John Morris Rankin, was killed in a car crash in Cape Breton on January 16, 2000,[34] shortly after the band announced they were going their separate ways.

The four siblings toured in 2009 and 2010,[36] but in January 2012 only Heather, Cookie and Jimmy were able to perform in venues from British Columbia to Thunder Bay while Raylene underwent chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer.

[41] In 1999, Heather sang "The Water is Wide" with Bruce Guthro and "Seinn o" with Mary Jane Lamond and Alyth McCormack in the CBC Television Special Celtic Electric.

The first single from A Fine Line, a cover of Tears for Fears' 1985 hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" featuring Halifax-based rapper Quake Matthews was released January 22, 2016.

[57] As a solo artist Rankin has performed in venues throughout Atlantic Canada and in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.